Captains Rohit Sharma and Pat Cummins (right) pose with the ICC World Cup 2023 trophy ahead of the India vs Australia final in Ahmedabad, on Saturday (November 18). Photo: ICC
World Cup final: 10 things to know about India vs Australia title clash in Ahmedabad
India enter the World Cup 2023 final with an undefeated record in the tournament, 10 wins on the trot – nine in the league phase and one in the semifinal.
The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad will be the venue where the ICC World Cup 2023 champion will be crowned on Sunday night (November 19).
Undefeated India are the favourites to win the trophy against Australia in the final which will be witnessed by over 1.30 lakh spectators at the stadium.
Here are 10 facts about the India vs Australia World Cup 2023 final.
1. This is India’s fourth appearance in the ODI World Cup final. The previous three ended in two wins (1983 and 2011) and one defeat (2003).
2. India enter the World Cup 2023 final with an undefeated record in the tournament, 10 wins on the trot – nine in the league phase and one in the semifinal. Australia, on the other hand, come into the final with 8 successive wins, a streak that started after their two losses at the start of the tournament.
3. In the 15-member Indian squad, only Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin have previously won the ODI World Cup, in 2011. If Kohli and Ashwin win on Sunday, they will be the only ones from India to win two ODI World Cups.
4. Seven of Australia’s 15 players in the current World Cup have previously won the World Cup title, in 2015. Captain Pat Cummins, David Warner, Steve Smith, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc were part of the team that won the World Cup under Michael Clarke’s captaincy at home eight years ago.
5. This will be the second World Cup final meeting between India and Australia. The two teams met in 2003 title clash in South Africa when the Ricky Ponting-led side won.
6. Australia are playing in their eighth ODI World Cup final. They are the most successful side with 5 titles (1987, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2015). They lost in 2 World Cup finals (1975, 1996).
7. In ODI World Cups, India and Australia have met 13 times with the latter winning 8 times, and India 5.
8. Rohit Sharma has a chance to become only the third Indian captain after Kapil Dev (1983) and MS Dhoni (2011) to win an ODI World Cup.
9. The winner of the World Cup 2023 will receive a cheque of $4 million while the runner-up gets $2 million.
10. Rahul Dravid, the current Indian team’s head coach, played in the 2003 World Cup final against Australia. He was wicketkeeper-batsman in that game and scored 47.
